Isaca Updated CCOA Exam Questions and Answers by ariel

Asupply chain attackoccurs when a threat actor compromises athird-party vendoror partner that an organization relies on. The attack is then propagated to the organization through trusted connections or software updates.

Reason for Lack of Indicators of Compromise (IoCs):

The attack often occursupstream(at a vendor), so the compromised organization may not detect any direct signs of breach.

Trusted Components:Malicious code or backdoors may be embedded intrusted software updatesor services.

Real-World Example:TheSolarWinds breach, where attackers compromised the software build pipeline, affecting numerous organizations without direct IoCs on their systems.

Why Not the Other Options:

B. Zero-day attack:Typically leaves some traces or unusual behavior.

C. injection attack:Usually detectable through web application monitoring.

D. Man-in-the-middle attack:Often leaves traces in network logs.

CCOA Official Review Manual, 1st Edition References:

Chapter 6: Advanced Threats and Attack Techniques:Discusses the impact of supply chain attacks.

Chapter 9: Incident Response Planning:Covers the challenges of detecting supply chain compromises.

TheWS-Securityextension inSimple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)provides security features at themessage levelrather than thetransport level. One of its primary features ismessage confidentiality.

Message Confidentiality:Achieved by encrypting SOAP messages using XML Encryption. This ensures that even if a message is intercepted, its content remains unreadable.

Additional Features:Also provides message integrity (using digital signatures) and authentication.

Use Case:Suitable for scenarios where messages pass through multiple intermediaries, as security is preserved across hops.

Incorrect Options:

A. Transport Layer Security (TLS):Secures the transport layer, not the SOAP message itself.

C. Malware protection:Not related to WS-Security.

D. Session management:SOAP itself is stateless and does not handle session management.

Exact Extract from CCOA Official Review Manual, 1st Edition:

Refer to Chapter 7, Section "Web Services Security," Subsection "WS-Security in SOAP" - WS-Security provides message-level security, including confidentiality and integrity.

Site-to-site VPNs establish secure, encrypted connections between two networks over the internet, typically used to link corporate networks with remote sites or a service provider's network. However, while these VPNs secure data transmission, they introduce specific risks.

Theprimary riskassociated with a site-to-site VPN with a service provider is theloss of visibility into user behavior. Here’s why:

Limited Monitoring:Since the traffic is encrypted and routed through the VPN tunnel, the organization may lose visibility over user activities within the service provider's network.

Blind Spots in Traffic Analysis:Security monitoring tools (like IDS/IPS) that rely on inspecting unencrypted data may be ineffective once data enters the VPN tunnel.

User Behavior Analytics (UBA) Issues:It becomes challenging to track insider threats or compromised accounts due to the encapsulation and encryption of network traffic.

Vendor Dependency:The organization might depend on the service provider’s security measures to detect malicious activity, which may not align with the organization’s security standards.

Other options analysis:

A. Loss of data integrity:VPNs generally ensure data integrity using protocols like IPsec, which validates packet integrity.

C. Data exfiltration:While data exfiltration can occur, it is typically a consequence of compromised credentials or insider threats, not a direct result of VPN usage.

D. Denial of service (DoS) attacks:While VPN endpoints can be targeted in a DoS attack, it is not theprimaryrisk specific to VPN use with a service provider.

CCOA Official Review Manual, 1st Edition References:

Chapter 4: Network Security Operations:Discusses risks related to VPNs, including reduced visibility.

Chapter 7: Security Monitoring and Incident Detection:Highlights the importance of maintaining visibility even when using encrypted connections.

Chapter 8: Incident Response and Recovery:Addresses challenges related to VPN monitoring during incidents.

When discussing a remediation plan for acritical vulnerability, it is essential to include arollback planbecause:

Post-Implementation Issues:Changes can cause unexpected issues or system instability.

Risk Mitigation:A rollback plan ensures quick restoration to the previous state if problems arise.

Best Practice:Always plan for potential failures when applying significant security changes.

Change Management:Ensures continuity by maintaining a safe fallback option.

Other options analysis:

A. Canceling remediation:This is not a proactive or practical approach.

C. Severity-based rollback:Rollback plans should be standard regardless of severity.

D. Additional staff presence:Does not eliminate the need for a rollback strategy.

CCOA Official Review Manual, 1st Edition References:

Chapter 9: Change Management in Security Operations:Emphasizes rollback planning during critical changes.

Chapter 8: Vulnerability Management:Discusses post-remediation risk considerations.